"Hertz shares plunged more than 4% in trading Thursday, while Tesla shares fell about 3%. The fall was expected after the admission from the company that EVs aren’t working.". . .
"The electric vehicle industry continues to take blow after blow as consumers continue to miss the spark for the pricey products. The Biden Administration has aggressively pushed EVs as part of their solution to the alleged climate crisis. Perhaps it is the draconian language used by Biden or the fact that EVs are unreliable, expensive, and generally underperform: whatever the case, consumers aren’t buying.
"One name synonymous with rental cars, Hertz, made an announcement recently that shocked the EV industry. On Thursday, Hertz stated that it plans to sell off about 20,000 EVs from their fleet and add gasoline powered cars in their place.
Despite the efforts from Hertz to gin up favor for the pricey rental option, it just didn’t work. Hertz tabbed Tom Brady in a seemingly endless number of commercials trying to make renting electric from Hertz somehow cool or socially responsible, but it turns out folks who want a rental car are neither concerned with coolness nor social responsibility. They want an inexpensive, nice, reliable rental to serve their short-term needs.
"Previously, the rental giant had pledged to purchase 100,000 Teslas by the end of 2022. However, the sudden change of direction underscores the problem with EVs. It is simply too expensive to maintain them, and Hertz found out the hard way after writing a check their gas tanks couldn’t cash.
"Hertz made a statement about their decision: “The company expects this action to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs. This will position the company to eliminate a disproportionate number of lower margin rentals and reduce damage expense associated with EVs.”
"Hertz has stated the intention to have the fleet sold off by 2025, and it is unclear if any new EVs will be purchased. However, it is fair to assume that until costs are such that the product is cost-effective, Hertz will stay with gasoline. Tesla isn’t the only automaker affected. General Motors has sold almost 175,000 EVs, while Swedish maker Polestar provided 65,000." . . .
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